'The Recalcitrant Ones would like nothing better than to watch Israel sink into a Persian miasma, while taking us along with them'

"... There’s only one problem with this–and it’s a big one.  I think Iran is a hardened target not just physically but psychically.  The Iranians lost hundreds of thousands in the Iran-Iraq War which they fought for eight years.  Persia in general is a place that has known wars for millennia.  Does anyone think that Israel, even with its nuclear weapons, can spook them?  I just don’t see it.  The only way I can see Iran changing course in the context of military action is if Israel can strike a blow and bring the regime to its knees.  But barring dropping a nuclear weapons on Teheran, it can’t do that.  Not even if it wanted to.
Likewise, some argue that the Israeli drumbeat of war is meant to persuade the Russians and Chinese, who have resisted the newest round of sanctions, that if they continue doing so the only alternative is war.  Some see Israel in this scenario as Uri Avnery does, as the U.S. Rottweiler, whom we unleash in order to scare recalcitrant Security Council members into voting our way.
There is only one problem with this overall concept.  And it’s a big one.  No one believes or cares.  If the U.S. and Israel want to turn this into a Las Vegas poker hand bluff, I think the Russian and Chinese are willing to wait them out to see what kind of cards they’re holding.  If you think about it, why would they care that Israel would bomb Iran?  They realize, just as much of the world realized in 2003, that once the U.S. invaded Iraq, it would only be a matter of time before the decision came back to haunt us–and it did.  Similarly, the Recalcitrant Ones would like nothing better than to watch Israel sink into a Persian miasma, while taking us along with them.  It would leave them sitting pretty to pick up the pieces after we messed up things royally..."